Super Mario Galaxy 2
Summary Nintendo has updated possibly one of the best video games for the Wii thus far. The things that were thoughts for the first game but were scrapped for some kind of reason. Story Mario is called again by the star bites to venture to the cosmos to recover the power stars and fight against Bowser Koopa and rescure Princess Peach. Gameplay Description The gameplay is almost the same as the first with a series of brand new features. In this game you can ride Yoshi, in some areas of the game you can control as Luigi as well (and he has moves and abilities that differs him from his more famous brother). The game also features more power-ups such as the Cloud Flower, and the Rock Mushroom (luigi can use these power-ups as well) Yoshi has his own power-ups which have their own unique effects on the dinosaur like the Blimp Berry and the Dash Pepper. This game is a little more linear than the last game. Johnny's Review Graphics The graphics in the game, despite being much the same as like it was in the first game is still very nicely well done. Nintendo doesn't rest on their laurels when it comes to graphics on their trademark games. The Backgrounds are breathtaking and the Character Models are very nicely done. The cutscenes and Mario flying through outer space is very spectacular. Rating: 9.5 Music The music has a really nice orchestrated touch to it. In some stages that you're allowed to ride Yoshi, the drums are added to the stage's soundtrack (just like they did in Super Mario World). Though, the only problem about the music is (like in Red Steel 2) quite limited, many of the stages had the same tracks in it. Rating: 7.5 Sound/Voice The sounds are nicely sounding cartoonish sounds that make you think of your favorite childhood cartoon as well as some other sounds as well. Now, there's not much in the way of voices as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and the other main characters repond to each other in grunts and other noises made from the mouth (though some of them *do* speak but in cartoonish bubbles). But overall, very well done. Rating: 8.5 Gameplay Controls The gameplay is what it should be for a modern Mario game. Running, jumping sliding and other dynamic jumps as well. Though, you mostly play as Mario in the game, you can also play as Luigi in some situations and Yoshi on others and they have their own controls (and disadvantages as well). Though, the controls can be some what problematic as you can time and again miss your projected landing location (either it be Mario, Luigi or Yoshi). Rating: 9 Replay Value It has become the norm for recent Mario games to have a lot of items yet to be found and lots of secret areas that yet to be ventrured (even if you managed to beat the game). So, going back to your completed game and find the rest of the Power Stars and go to areas you haven't seen to your first time playing the game. There's even a special world (World 9) that's called the Grandmaster Galaxy. This is supposed to be the hardest world in the game, and trust me it's not for the inexperienced or for the faint of heart. Final Thoughts I have played this game as I'm a lifetime Mario fan (since the days of the orignal Donkey Kong). Though it *is* a very good game indeed, but the concept of "Mario going after Bowser Koopa and Rescue the Princess" has been done to death by now. Personally, I would like Mario be in a game similar to The Legend of Zelda and have a very different opponent and objective. But, I'm going to leave it to that and praise the game's great gameplay and graphics. Rating: 8.5